Marshall, a flight instructor, said he was piloting a 2008 Schweizer 269C-1 helicopter with student Sultan Saidmuratov, 26, at his side. The aircraft’s rear rotor broke off at some point before the hard landing at 350 SE Second St.

The helicopter’s skids appeared intact after the crash. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Timothy Heiser called Marshall’s landing — which did not harm the pilot, Saidmuratov or any bystanders or property — “absolutely amazing.”

The helicopter is registered with the Federal Aviation Administration to owner Helocraft Holding Co. Inc. and operated by Pelican Flight Training LLC out of Broward County’s North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines.

Saidmuratov, from Kazakhstan, hopes to become an air traffic controller and was observing what a pilot does during the flight.

Their trip began Wednesday afternoon at North Perry Airport, when they were to fly across Broward County in a large square pattern.

Their first stop was the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Heliport, at 201 SE Second St. on the roof of a parking garage. Then they were to travel south along the Atlantic Ocean shoreline before returning to Pelican’s hangar in Pembroke Pines, Marshall said.

Pilots are trained as they fly to notice one safe landing spot and then the next safe spot as they travel toward a destination, Marshall said.

But after lifting off from the helipad, Marshall said there was an issue with his aircraft and he knew he would not be able to return to it.

Instead, he said he reported an emergency landing to the control tower at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport before crashing on a street.

The landing was in the shadows of condo and office towers between Southeast Third Avenue and Federal Highway.

Marshall said he has never crashed an aircraft before and on Thursday morning, was “still processing every single minute” of the flight.

As the helicopter was descending, Marshall said he remembered thinking, “‘Pilots train for this. We know how to act in this situation.’ And now, it’s not training, you have to act. It’s an emergency situation.”

His boss, Anna Stepanova, chief operating officer of Pelican, said, “I think he did a perfect, professional job, just a fantastic job. Our students called him ‘our hero.’”

“He did a major thing in a crowded place,” Stepanova said. “He was thinking about saving the life of his passenger.”

The grounded helicopter was towed from downtown Fort Lauderdale about 10 p.m. Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing the performance of Marshall and the company and its aircraft.

Marshall and Stepanova said while the investigation was still open, they were not able to discuss possible causes for the crash.

“I’m sure that it’s not a pilot issue,” Stepanova said.

Pelican Flight Training has not had a crash since current management took over the business in 2010, according to Stepanova.

The company’s safety record was not immediately available from the FAA, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

The school owns five planes and two helicopters, including the one that was damaged Wednesday.

Stepanova estimated that since Pelican’s founding 34 years ago, it has graduated more than 2,000 pilots who are flying for private corporations, airlines, governments and even in the United Nations peacekeeping force.

The current class of 80 students come from about 35 countries to study with Pelican; a related company, Riga Aeronautical Institute, based in Latvia, also sends students to Pelican for a year of study, said Stepanova.

Marshall said two factors contributed to the landing that he and Saidmuratov were able to walk away from: “When you know what you’re doing, you do your best. And also, luck.”